The present invention relates to a spring support structure of a reciprocating compressor, and more particularly, to a spring support structure of a reciprocating compressor for elastically supporting an armature of a reciprocating motor.
Generally, a reciprocating compressor is to suck, compress and discharge a gas while a piston makes a reciprocal movement within a cylinder.
FIG. 1 is a vertical-sectional view of a reciprocating compressor of a conventional art.
As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional reciprocating compressor includes a closed container 10 in which a suction pipe (SP) and a discharge pipe (DP) communicate to each other, a reciprocating motor 20 fixed inside the closed container 10, a compression unit 30 installed in the closed container 10 and sucking, compressing and discharging a gas, a frame unit 40 supporting the reciprocating motor 20 and the compression unit 30, and a spring unit 50 elastically supporting the armature of the reciprocating motor 20 in a movement direction and inducing a resonance.
The reciprocating motor 20 includes a stator 21 consisting of an inner stator 21A and an outer stator 21B and an armature 22 inserted in an air-gap between the inner stator 21A and the outer stator 21B and making a reciprocal movement along with a piston 31 (to be described).
The compression unit 30 includes the piston 31 making a reciprocal movement by being combined to a magnet support member 22A of the reciprocating motor 20, a cylinder 32 fixed at a front frame 41 so that the piston 31 is slidably inserted thereto, and forming a compressive space along with the piston 31, a suction valve 33 mounted at the front end of the piston 31, opening and closing a gas hole 31b of the piston 31 to limit suction of a gas, and a discharge valve assembly 34 mounted at the front end face of the cylinder 32 to cover the compressive space and limit discharging of a compressed gas.
The frame unit 40 includes a front frame 41 supportedly contacting the front side of the inner stator 21A and the outer stator 21B, with which the cylinder 32 is insertedly combined, a middle frame 42 supportedly contacting the rear side of the outer stator 21B, and a rear frame 43 combined with the middle frame 42 to support the rear side of a rear spring 52 (to be described).
The spring unit 50 includes a front spring 51, both ends of which are supported at the front face of a combining portion of the armature 22 and the piston 31 and its corresponding inner face of the front frame 41, so as to be inserted into the outer circumference of the cylinder 32, and a rear spring 52, both ends of which are supported at a rear face of the combining portion of the armature 22 and the piston 31 and its corresponding front face of the rear frame 43.
The operation of the conventional reciprocating compressor constructed as described above will now be explained.
When a power is applied to the outer stator 21B of the reciprocating motor 20 and a flux is formed between the inner stator 21A and the outer stator 21B, the armature 22 positioned at an air gap between the inner stator 21A and the outer stator 21B is moved in the flux direction to continuously make a reciprocal movement by virtue of the spring unit 50, and accordingly, the piston 31 combined with the armature 22 makes a reciprocal movement within the cylinder 32, so that the volume of the compressive space is changed and a coolant gas is sucked into the compressive space, compressed therein and discharged therefrom.
In the sucking stroke of the piston, the coolant gas is sucked into the closed container 10 through the suction pipe (SP), passes through a gas flow passage 31a and the gas hole 31b of the piston 31 and opens the suction valve 33 so as to be sucked into the compressive space, and, in a compression stroke of the piston, the gas is compressed to a predetermined pressure and then discharged through the discharge pipe (DP) by opening the discharge valve assembly 34. The series of processes are repeatedly performed.
However, the conventional reciprocating compressor has a problem. That is, as the front spring 51 and the rear spring 52 are arranged in a straight line with the armature 22 therebetween, as shown in FIG. 2, the horizontal directional length (L) of the spring should be equivalent to at least the sum of the length (L1) of the front spring 51 and the length (L2) of the rear spring, causing a problem that the horizontal length of the compressor is lengthened.
In addition, the front spring 51 and the rear spring 52 are both compressive coil springs, which has a property of being deflected in the radial direction while being staggered in the winding direction when it is compressedly tensed. Thus, when the armature 22 and the piston 31 are making a reciprocal movement, they are vibrated in the radial direction due to the characteristics of front spring 51 and the rear spring 52 supporting them, resulting in that a general reliability of the compressor is degraded.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a spring support structure of a reciprocating compressor that is capable of reducing a horizontal length of a compressor.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a spring support structure of a reciprocating compressor that is capable of reducing a vibration in the radial direction due to a coil spring elastically supporting an armature and a piston of a compressor and improving a stability of the compressor.
To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, there is provided a spring support structure of a reciprocating compressor having a frame unit elastically supported inside a closed container; a reciprocating motor fixed at the frame unit; a compression unit having a piston combined to an armature of the reciprocating motor and a cylinder into which the piston is slidably-inserted to be fixed at the frame unit; and a spring unit supporting a spring support provided at the armature or the piston and guiding a reciprocal movement of the piston, wherein the spring unit includes a plurality of front springs supporting one side of the spring support in parallel and a plurality of the rear springs supporting the other side of the spring support.
The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.